Bodybuilding/Sculpting check-in;-)

Real quick,

Monday disc 13 My chest, triceps and shoulders were sore. My chest the next day was very sore and still sore on Wed.

Tuesday disc 14 legs My hamstrings and glutes and calves are very sore. Still today, I can really feel the leg workout.

Took Wednesday off. Had too. I was still sore.

Thursday, today Disc 15 not feeling anything yet in my biceps or back.

After every workout this week, I did Party Rockin Step 2 premises. So about 30 minutes of cardio. Before I did the cardio ,I immediately had a protein shake after the weight workout.

Tomorrow, I plan on just doing an hour of cardio.

Saturday, I was wanting to do STS total Body. I was wanting to hit my muscles twice a week.

I think I was very sore because I had just come off of my recovery week. But I thought if I hit my muscles twice maybe I won't be as sore. These heavier weights are killer and I don't even lift as heavy as you ladies.

Now for the funny part. I keep forgetting to pull out my ab discs and have not worked them out in at least three weeks. Maybe not quite so long but still. I will do them today just because I remembered.

Okay, I will come back to get back to you Mary and your previous post.
 
It is getting harder to check in on a daily or even a couple of days basis with the Christmas holidays around the corner.

Well I did my total body workout and I must say, I don't feel as sore the next day. So that is good news for me.
Tomorrow, I start week 2 of mesocycle2 and am looking forward to my workouts.
Do y'all think I am adding too much by doing cardio after my heavy weight workouts?
 
Mary,
That is what I am planning on doing. Pulling out the meal plans That
I used when training with the trainer. Honestly, those meals were the same ol' same ol'. The good thing was it did work. Tim, the trainer had me on two plans. First on e
Was to add weight and muscle. And I liked that diet because it had some flexibility. The other diet was to slim down. 3 egg whites, half cup oatmeal with cinnamon
Apple and quarter cup of almonds
3 oz. Chicken, one cup dark green veggies, half cup rice
Protein shake or protein
4 oz. Fish, beef or chicken, one cup dak greens, half cup rice
Protein

I know it works. But, it
Was so boring. I guess I can do it if I really want to lose the weight. It is so simple and I can have it all ready and in baggies,pre packed,like my coach would say so I never have to think about it and all I do is grab and go.

And I guess I can still cook for my family the way they like. The temptation is so great when I cook their meals. It isn't bad but it isn't restrictive either.

Mary thanks for the help. I have a vacation too now until Jan.3 . So, now it is hard because like you I like to have my wine and get together with my girlfriends.

The other problem is having too much time on my hands with no home school and eating because my husband is home and goes to the store to make all this rich food .

Well, it is nice to just relax a bit. I am looking forward to my next workouts. You are almost done with Meso 1. I was so happy to get through with that mess. I like Meso 2 much more. What did you decide about how you are going to do your schedule with your workout schedule?
What are you going to do for the holidays?
O
 
Hey Jen,
I need to keep a food journal. Problem is, I am not so dedicated. I tried this month to keep a Christmas journal an stopped on dec. 4th. I started on Dec. 1st. End of journaling. Now , I do write on my calendar what workout I did for that day. I know I have to do my STS workouts because of being accountable but my cardio ,is whatever I feel like doing that day.

It seems to me that as soon as life goes back to normal,you are going to be back on track with your eating. The family gatherings and even the non- gatherings have always been detrimental to me. I think I am the only one in the family with food issues. My sisters and brother don't talk about food and have a control over it. But not I.
I do know that I am eating way too many calories and fat now that Nathalie told me to calculate my food. So I did, and I am overeating especially my carbs and not enough dark veggies. Oh joy.
 
Hello everyone and happy holidays! I'm at work today but I have the rest of the week off. This morning was Peak 10 More Cardio Strength. Tomorrow is Disk 19 Chest, Shoulders and Triceps, Wed. is Disk 20 Legs + Extended Stretch and Thursday is Disk 21 Back and Biceps. Yes, I plan to workout on Christmas!

Veronika--thanks for posting the meal plan your trainer gave to you. I find that very useful. I'm starting to create the menu/food plan for when the holidays are over so I can do damage control! That is very helpful!

Mary--although I liked Rhythmic Step the choreography was very complicated and there was very little learning curve. I got lost multiple times. I was disappointed. I had so enjoyed the step workouts I was doing from Cardio Hits and The Classics, and I had really hoped that Rhythmic Step would be along the lines of those workouts but it wasn't. Cathe’s way of doing step workouts changed I guess sometime after the 1990s (Rhythmic Step is 2001). The learning curve disappears. I will say I did like it. It was fun--but very complicated choreography. I rate it right up there with Party Rocking Step 1, Step Blast and Low Impact Challenge. So now there are 4 Cathe step workouts I will probably never do again.

What are everyone else's holiday workout plans?

And how are you doing Nathalie? Haven't heard from you recently.
 
Jen, I love that you are the type of person who knows what she likes or doesn't. It means you are so sure of yourself and will not waste your time. I wish I wasn't so wishy washy. I thought you were taking the DVDs you werent getting and doing them after your hardcore workouts to learn the steps? Did you try just doing five minutes of the workouts until you get it so it doesn't frustrate you? I think, that if YOU would learn those DVDs that are so fancy feet, YOU would be the perfect person to help all those other people who can't get the steps. I believe this because of the way you communicate so clearly and your insight and detailed explanations are top of the line. Did you already know that about yourself already?You really could have helped me when I was trying to learn Party Rockin 1. Remember how many times I had to rewind? A LOT!

I am going to be working on my diet plan as soon as Christmas day meal is over. I am just having to be realistic about how life is here in this household.

We normally go to Candle light Service on Christmas Eve and celebrate a Traditional Polish meal on Christmas day. We open our gifts in the morning while I drink my Kahlua and coffee. haha. My husband said he would give me a $120 gift card to buy a spin bike. Do you think I can get a good bike that will last for years so I can do Cathe's spin bike workouts for that amount or should I save it and wait until I can put some money aside to add to it so I can get a better bike?

I don't know why, I should be grateful for everything I have during this season but I always get sad during the holidays. I know I am a grown woman but I miss seeing my sisters and brother and cousins and mom and dad who live in another state and we can never afford to go see them. You would think After being married for 19 years and having my own family I would not have these same feelings year after year during the holidays.

On a happier note, I ordered Cathe's calendar since she had extras. I guess I made myself feel better by spending money. $20. It felt good and I always like having a Cathe workout calendar even though I could have used any calendar. She inspires me and I like that. Shouldn't I be inspiring myself?
 
Ladies, I don't plan on working out Christmas Day just because I start drinking so early in the morning with eggnog and spirits and Kahlua in my coffee. I know, not good for my body but good for my mind.

And yes, I hope you come back soon Nathalie. I am curious on how your workouts are going?
 
Hi Everyone,

Merry christmas and happy new year.

I am still running as per shedule as far as STS is concerned. I substituted my cardios by learning cathe's new steps. Now I can do PRS#1 without stopping. I still need to master PRS#2

Last week rotation was:

Monday disc 16 plus 100 hip thrust and PRS#1
Tuesday Great glutes plus 100triceps extensions
Wednesday disc 18 Back and biceps plus 100 lateral raise and PRS#1
Thursday Disc 17 plus 100 biceps with e-z barbell
Friday high step training then I had two days of active recovery learning PRS#2


Today workout was disc 19 chest back and shoulders plus 100 lateral raised challenge. My arms are fatigued as I am typing this.

Like all of you, I felt the burn last week with triset ( I love triset) and drop set. I managed to press about 70 pound, felt the burn and was fine. I think I can challenge a little bit more as my shoulders were fine. These 100 challenge are helping in strengthening shoulders muscles. I want to ensure my shoulders are stronger enough to bear the chest load.

Last week I used my newest barbell for chest press.It felt so different compared to my old one. It is incredible how the use of an equipment can make a difference taking the exercise to another level. I felt more comfortable;)
I'm hoping to keep up with plan at least for STS even though it's busy time. I am taking few days off work. Tomorrow I am going to make sure I get my workout in early as evening I am going out for a movie. I do not have my family around this Christmas and I will be spending it with friends :-//

To veronika,This is a festive time and you should not feel on the pressure of completing your plan. Just do the best you can. I had to move challenging from one day to another just trying to get everything planned in. I must admit PRS#1 is not easy to learn. Enjoy your drink;);)

To jen, I am very good and hope doing well with STS thanks. I treated myself by buying myself hand grip wrap. I feel I needed one pair for barbell row as I am planning to add the weight. Hopefull this pair of hand grip wrap will help to bear the burn in the palm of my hands. Jen how are you doing with your rotation? Are you still considering reducing doubles? How is your mood these days? I must admit, I have not been sleeping well recently. I had a stressful work task to do and had to work over the weekend. I did not do all my planned workout . Jen you are doing well at least trying PRS cause I know I had hard time too. As usual I was just adamant to learn and manage to play the full dvd without stopping. I agree with you about Rythmic step. I have not tried it yet. I remember previewing the clip and thought How am i going to learn all these travelings. The same thought came through my mind while previewing PRS#1 but in the end I enjoyed the traveling;):D:D
If you feel it is not for you leave it. There is so many other workout in cathe's collection or other instructor you could do and enjoy:):)

Hello Mary, Hope you are well. How are doing?

Ladies I have fighter diet from Pauline Nordin. Have you heard of it? I started reading it I quite like it. It's simple to do. Veronika thanks for sharing your diet. I will certainly read it through.

Tomorrow I will do Legs. I will do a double disc 20 and PRS#2
I decided not to have a complete rest day till next year as due to busy schedule. I will just have active rest day. Jen I like your idea of active recovery day. I will be doing one every two weeks from next year.

I will post this rotation later on this week.
I am definitely around reading as you post.
I am also in interacting in open discussion box. please feel free to chime in ;-))

http://cathe.com/forum/f97/curse-skinny-fat-295527/

Have a good day ladies and shall report soon ;-)
 
Today was Disk 19--Chest, Shoulders & Triceps--double wave loads! I'd forgotten how intense some of these Meso 2 workouts are! WOW! I love this one--but it was long. That's why I changed it to today because I am off work and have more time. I love how heavy I can go with these workouts. My 80% 1RM for flat bench chest press is 70 pounds. I was struggling, but I pushed out every rep. And the flat bench chest flys--35. On that one, it is a workout just to get the dumbbells into the starting position! My shoulders and chest are burning! Since I got up later I was hungry when I woke. So I did something different this morning. Generally, because I get up at 4:30am, I workout on an empty stomach and have a protein shake after I shower and get ready for work. But this morning I ate half a protein bar (10g protein) before the workout, then had my protein shake afterward. I also finished this workout with 10 minutes of tabata.

I haven't been doing any of the 100 rep challenges Nathalie. I wish I did have more time to add things onto my workouts in the mornings, but my time is limited. That's what I plan to do this week at least since I am off--add a little something onto the end of every workout. Probably 10 minutes of tabata or some ab work.

What is a handgrip wrap? I do wear lifting gloves when I am working out, but on some exercises, my hands are still hurting even with the gloves on. Do the wraps help? For instance this morning, the incline barbell press made my palms ache a little, but usually it's the deadlifts and barbell rows. My barbell is so heavy it feels like it is tearing up my hands sometimes.

I got the fighter diet, too. I'm not sure what I think of it yet. Seems like a lot of food. However, it is similar to several other muscle building diet plans I've come across--lots of calories and lots of protein.

I don't know Veronika. I have thought about taking the time to learn some of the complicated step workouts I really like--Rhythmic Step and Step Blast (I didn't like PRS1 or LIC enough to bother with again)--but the problem is time and how often I would actually come back to the workouts. I only have an hour in the morning that I am squeezing in everything I can. And then there is the fact, I probably won't do it very often, even if I love it and eventually master it, which means I will just forget it again. If I can't pick something up the first time through (which I can with all of her other step workouts except those 4) I don't bother with it again.

And I think treating ourselves to something we really want--within our budget--does make us feel better. I do it all the time with workout DVDs. :eek: And the holidays do make people sad. When I was in the military and then later, married to military (that's where I met my first husband, but then I got out and he stayed in--so I still had to go everywhere the AF sent him), holidays were often sad for me--especially when we were overseas. But now I live close to my family and the holidays can actually get pretty stressful!

As for the spin bike--I don't know how much they cost but I really want one, too. I have a recumbent bike which was very expensive, but I'm pretty sure spin bikes are cheaper. I can't get one this year but I am hoping that maybe I can next year. When I looked at them I remember them being around $300 but I didn't do an extensive or comparison search.
 
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Nathalie, Jen, and Veronika - just stopping by quickly to wish you all a very Merry Christmas!

I'll have to read and catch up a little later... :)
 
Way to go ladies for moving those heavy weights!!! You are awesome! I'm definitely not up there yet.

This week was:
Sunday: Party Rockin Step Extreme 10 Combos {loved this}
Mon: Cross-country skiing {in my big backyard}
Tues: STS Disc 10, morning of Christmas Eve
Wed: Cross-country skiing on Christmas Day
Thurs: Today - STS Disc 11 and xc-skiing {loved this, extra energy today!}
Fri: Tomorrow - STS Disc 12 and maybe more skiing

Jen, I agree with Veronika's positive impression of you, in fact I was thinking just last week that you are probably an incredibly well-organized person. {envy :D} I opened up Christi Taylor Pure Spice workout today following STS and tried the first 2 songs instead of Extended Stretch. This may be my version of your PRS1 challenge. Ha ha, it looks like so much fun and with great music, but arm/movements with confusing foot moves? :confused: I'm going to try to work on this next week during recovery.

I also previewed my new Weider Ruthless DVD set (ok I knew I was getting cash for Christmas - I just shopped beforehand haha). This has 20, 20-min body weight workouts, $30 at Walmart. I'll use them for add-ons, doubling them up, or for when I'm short on time/oversleep. :D Anyway there is a Nutrition Guide pdf in there, a 30-day meal plan that I've only skimmed through, but looks good. It is 25% protein, 25% healthy fat, and 50% carbs. What do you think of that? What are the ratios for the Fighter Diet? I guess my impression is that the carbs are a bit high here and the protein should be upped. ?

Veronika, I thank you too for sharing that lean diet and thank you also Nathalie and Jen.

Christmas Eve was at my in-laws and I had some wine. Christmas Day was at home with all 5 kids home (2 are mid-20's) - an early Mass, healthy brunch and dinner, except for the turkey gravy and cookies galore! We've had cookies all week. :( I don't particularly enjoy the holidays either, but this year was so much better because I'm focused on this STS rotation! Previous years I'd have been drinking all of Dec and Jan, well you know what I mean, a glass of wine, beer, or Bailey's Irish Creme here or there during the week, more on weekends. I think it added to the winter depression. Not this year though, coz I can't mix drinking with Cathe! My parents moved far away 11 years ago and I don't see them or my brother's family very often, so our holidays are with the in-laws occasionally or mostly just at home with DH and kids. I tell you though, I sure do love the day after Christmas! It's so relaxing and I get to ski all I want (if there's good snow). I love the winter view through my kitchen patio doors - several pairs of skis and ski poles stuck in a mound of snow just off the deck. Seeing that makes me happy. BTW Veronika, your drink "eggnog and spirits and Kahlua in my coffee" sounds heavenly!!! :D:D:p

Guess what? ... my husband and daughter surprised me with a $75 Cathe gift certificate! I guess they weren't paying very much attention to my almost complete Cathe library, but I still love it. It will probably go to Cathe's next Pre-Order. :D I've been wondering about her next DVDs for about a month now already!

As far as 8-week vs 4-week mesos, I'm not sure yet. In weeks 6 & 7 I was starting to lose my motivation and getting tired. This week I was feeling great with my workouts, which doesn't make sense because of Christmas, or maybe it's because I've been skiing for cardio? Part of my concern is that, in addition to my typical Dec-Jan slump, I also have trouble exercising with the July-August heat and humidity and am more likely to just do unscheduled outdoor biking. With the longer plan, at the end the final STS M3 should be in July. Can I do it? ...
 
Checking in with
To The Max - Fitness Tabata instead of Compound Legs
and XC-Skiing

I've been getting a nice little DOMS in my thighs from the skiing (hip flexors? and inner thighs especially), love it! It kind of reminds me of when I was doing XTrain/LIS. Using the gliding discs really got my inner thighs toned. Seems like a lot of people don't like the discs. I love using them.

Every night has been a DVD with cookies and peppermint tea! It's a love/hate thing - the sooner the cookies are gone, the better! Last night we watched World War Z. That was pushing it for our "family" viewing. I enjoyed it though! (Brad Pitt) ;):D:p

How are you ladies doing?
 
Hi Ladies?

Hope you're are all well
I'm typing from my phone while I am waiting for my Internet service to be taken over by another provider.

Today w/o was PRS# 1 extrem 67 minutes plus 200 lateral 10-20 degree tilt plus 100 hip thrust.

Yesterday was yoga relax
Before yesterday was flex train plus prs#1 step mix

I have worked out all third week meso 2 and I will draft my rotation for my next 4 weeks cycle.

Jen sorry for not getting back earlier regarding handgrip wraps
They are also called figure of eight lifting straps. The are padded on each loop. I have added it to get help bearing the burn while lifting my BB wearing weighted gloves. Because my weighted gloves are not palm covered, I need extra help now that we're heading to meso 3
Also it does IMO, offer an assurance while holding the BB.

Mary you must be having fun skiing. This must be refreshing and I would imagine perhaps therapeutical.

Hope everyone is well and you have all had a great festive time with family and friends.
I will report Monday the latest

Have a good weekend,
 
Hello everyone! I am in damage control mode! It has been a wild holiday season. I overdid it. I stuck with my workouts though, but ate horribly. It's almost over tho. Even tho I am in damage control mode, we still have New Years Eve (which I plan to be good during) and my birthday, which is less than a week away. Once I get through those two I can really knuckle down.

Mary--sounds like you had a great holiday! Lots of skiing. Great exercise, I've heard. Never done it myself.

Meso 2 has been making me very sore! Lots of DOMS--mostly in my glutes, chest and shoulders.

Here is my past week:
Monday Peak 10 More Cardio Strength
Tuesday Disk 19 Chest, Shoulders and Triceps + 10 minute HiiT
Wed. Disk 20 Legs + 100 Rep Hip Thrusts + Extended Stretch
Thursday Disk 21 Back & Biceps + 10 minute HiiT
Friday TurboFire Fire 45 + Abs 10 + Stretch 10
Saturday Jari's Love's Get Extermely Ripped Revved to the Max

Today is a rest day + the end of my holiday staycation then back to work tomorrow. :( But we get Wed. off for New Years Day. So a nice break mid-week. My oldest daughter left this morning to return home, though the youngest will be here a few more weeks until the Spring semester starts up. Life is almost back to normal. My mom had her surgery (lumpectomy--so the tumor is gone) but due to the holiday she hasn't yet gotten the results of the biopsies. Hopefully we'll hear something about that tomorrow.

For Christmas I got a 40# weighted vest and several workout DVDs (Amy Dixon's two new workouts and Jari Love's newest). I got other things, too--but those are best IMHO and the only ones relevant here! So when Meso 3 starts up I have a squat rack and a weighted vest. I am ready to really work my lower body! I plan to use the weight vest for the Leg workouts as a I pyramid back down through Meso 2 and 1. We'll see how that works for me.

Mary--I would have loved a Cathe gift card last year for Christmas! But like you, I now own everything and would just be waiting to use it on her next release. But that is great anyway--her next pre-order is already paid for for you! Doesn't get any better than that!

Mary--that is a long time to be in a single program--but doing STS pyramid style will have some of us right there along with you, just in a different mesocycle. So you can do it! We're here for each other! The first time I did STS I did the 5.5 month rotation. I did like it and am glad I did it that way the first time, but for future rounds I will probably stick with the 3 month rotation or doing it pyramid fashion (we'll see what I think of that when I'm done).

One more week until another recovery week. Which I am not sure I am ready for. I am waffling on the recovery rotation I put together. I don't feel like I "need" a recovery like I sometimes do, so I am thinking of just changing things up--doing MWT workouts rather than dropping the intensity. I can't decide. The set up I currently have uses Cathe's MMA workouts and her step workouts. So all steady-state cardio and no weights. Maybe I'll change it to varying the steady-state cardio workouts with MWT workouts. I just can't decide!
 
Hello ladies,

Hope you're all well. Happy new year to you all. May this new year bring more happiness and success:)).

Jen, it's funny you mentioned not feeling the need to recover. I am feeling the same! I will have a n active recovery consisting of steady pace step and few MWT with minimal weight.

Today work out was Disc 23 legs plus 100 triceps extensions. I have great glutes later on before going out.

Today's weight loads were:

*) deadlift 37kg BB
*) squat 12 kg x 2
*) leg press 15kg x 1
*) 45 degree lunges 6.4kgx2
*) low plane lunges 6.4 kgx2
*) plie squat 15 kg x1

I enjoyed the Triset. It was intense and I loved it. I felt I needed each 1 minute break. I know my legs will talk tomorrow.

I will check and manually do the math to ensure the weight load is accurate for meso 3. It's time to increase the load.
;-) *for me*. I feel I could have gone heavier for deadlift.

Still reporting from my smart phone .Can't wait to get my Internet service up and running.

Have a great day ladies,

Nathalie
 
Quick check in ladies. I did not keep up with my workouts last week . We did a short ski trip to the Colorado mountains and now we are back home. Obviously, diet wasn't there either. Now, we are leaving to New Mexico for a ski trip before going back to work. I am going to try to get something in today but not sure what.

I am very proud of you all keeping up with your workouts.

Have a happy New year!
 
Quick report ladies,
Great glutes main program without 7 minutes of chair segment done. couldn't have dreamt of closing 2013 other way! ;-) large group muscle plus us girls have to love ourselves ;-) ;-)

Happy New year ladies.
Time for a drink :) x
 
Quick report ladies,
Great glutes main program without 7 minutes of chair segment done. I felt this double shot ;-). My legs muscles were fatigued but had to go through this confusion ;-). I have an idea of how I'm going to feel tomorrow but I will cross that bridge when I get to it.
I couldn't have dreamt of closing 2013 other way! ;-) large group muscle plus us girls have to love ourselves ;-) ;-)

Happy New year ladies.
Time for a drink :) x
 
Happy New Years ladies!

Veronika--Sounds like you are really celebrating the holidays! Lots of skiing! But that's great exercise in itself isn't it?

Nathalie--looks like you're sending the old year out with style--lots of lower body work! Tomorrow is Disk 23 Legs--but I plan to finish it off with 100 Rep Hip Thrusts and 1RM testing for Squat Rack Legs. I'm excited to finally play with my weighted vest. It actually looks a little complicated to assemble, but I'm sure it's not. We'll see tomorrow!

That sucks that you have to do everything from your smart phone. I sometimes post from my Cathe app on my iphone, but I hate doing it. It's a pain. It seems like I am all thumbs when I do it. Hope you have your internet back up soon.

I decided for my recovery week to do Rip:60 workouts. I haven't pulled out my suspension band trainer in forever. The workouts are excellent and will really change things up for a week. I'm feeling pretty excited about my recovery week now--then Meso 3! I'm really excited about that Mesocycle!
 
My New Year's Day isn't starting well! The on/off switch on the tv in the workout room jammed. My husband rigged it to work but it is now a pain in the a$$ to turn on and off. The my Select Techs jammed. Luckily that didn't happen until after I used them. But it will screw up future workouts.

My husband is trying to fix the Select Techs--I hope he is successful! And right now we are on our way to buy a tv we found in Craigslist for the workout room.

So that's the start if my New Years! I did do my 1RM testing with my squat rack and weighted vest--Squat Rack Legs will definitely be challenging!

How is everyone else's new year going?
 
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